Free Wounded Grace by Tanya Stowe Page B

locked…for the first time in his memory. He had to knock a second time before he heard light footsteps coming down the hall. He expected to see Vivian’s grief-stricken face as the door swung wide.
    Instead, he tensed instantly upon seeing Madison Harper. Hackles rose all over his body. “Oh, it’s you.” He was too surprised to force a polite tone into his voice.
    “Lance, I’m so glad you’re here.”
    “I doubt very much that you’re glad to see me , Madison. We have too much history and too many years of bad blood for either of us to be ‘glad’ to see the other.”
    Her lips tightened into a thin line but she said nothing, just held the door wide and gestured him into the hall.
    “You must have driven straight through. I know you must be tired, but it’s so good you’re here. We need you.”
    We? Vivian had told him that Madison had moved to Heart’s Haven and they had grown close again. But somehow, that fact hadn’t registered. He couldn’t believe his sister had actually let the little barracuda back into her life. Vivian said Madison had changed, become more like her old self, but he hadn’t believed that, either.
    Her straight hair curved around her face but was shorter at the back. She was slender, but not overly so. In fact, she’d put on weight since her Dallas days. She’d always been too thin, almost anorexic. She looked good now, better than a woman of her age…or temperament, had a right to look.
    His late wife, Gwen, had borne three children, was a grandmother, and proud of it. She wore their amazing life together in the shape of her body, and it had always been beautiful to him.
    “I want to help, Lance, but I’m afraid I’m not much use.” Madison seemed oblivious to Lance’s circumspect inspection. “Andrew was so important…to me, to all of us.”
    Lance was surprised to see moisture glass her eyes as she turned away. But he wondered about the sincerity of those tears. After all, this was the woman who ten years ago pretended to be Vivian’s best friend and assistant so she could systematically steal all of Viv’s clients.
    “Everyone’s having such a difficult time. We need someone with a level head to keep us on track. There’s so much to decide about the funeral…” Madison’s voice faded away.
    “And, of course, I know all about that.” He hadn’t meant the words to come out so sharp, but at least they had the effect of finally silencing Madison. She stared at him, the tracks of tears still on her cheeks.
    “I didn’t mean—” She stumbled over her words and for the first time, Lance felt a twinge of guilt over his uncharitable attitude.
    “I was so sorry to hear about Gwen, Lance.” The sincerity in her soft tone heightened the twinge to an unwelcome pang. “She was…”
    “Special.” He finished the sentence for her.
    “Yes, she was.” Two years had gone by since the five-car pile-up that had taken his wife from him, and the pain felt just as sharp as if it had happened yesterday.
    “I wanted to come to the funeral, Lance, but I had just had my own accident…”
    “Yes, I know all about that. I didn’t expect you to come.” He knew he was being rude and unkind but somehow, it just didn’t seem right for Madison Harper to talk about Gwen.
    He looked around. She’d led him to the foot of the long staircase and he glanced up. “Where’s Viv?”
    “She’s resting. We were up all night at the hospital, filing paperwork. She’s exhausted, so I thought this would be a good time for us to talk.”
    The hackles that had risen the minute he’d seen Madison rippled again. “Look, I’ve driven all night. I’m tired, hungry and not in the best of moods. I’d really just like to talk to my sister.”
    Madison took a slow, measured breath. “I can take you to see her, but I doubt you’ll get much out of her. The doctor gave her something to help her sleep. We could drive a truck through her bedroom right now, and I doubt she would wake